Blog

Critter Notices

Critters is 23!

Yes, 23 years ago Critters was born. Wow! Thanks so much
to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!

Critters no longer accepting European Union members :(

It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce Critters can no longer accept people in the European Union as members. This is a result of the "GDPR" privacy laws going into effect.
I'm a big fan of privacy, and applaud the general idea behind the GDPR, but the way it's implemented forces me to close the door to EU writers. [read more why...]

Books from Critters!

Check out Books by Critters for books by your fellow
Critterfolk, as well as my list of recommended books for writers.

P&E Has a New Caretaker!

I'm very happy to announce that P&E has been handed off to a new caretaker! Check out the site for news and such. Hurrah!

Interviewed!

I'm being interviewed live on public radio for Critters 20th
birthday. For those who want to listen, it's on the 10am (Mountain time)
show on Thursday, 11/19/16, on Colorado Public Radio - www.cpr.org has
streaming on the site or it's 90.1 FM in the Denver area. [Interview is done,
you can listen on the site]

Free Web Sites

ReAnimus Acquires Advent!

ReAnimus Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of the legendary Advent
Publishers! Advent is now a subsidiary of ReAnimus Press, and we will
continue to publish Advent's titles under the Advent name. Advent was
founded in 1956 by Earl Kemp and others, and has published the likes
of James Blish, Hal Clement, Robert Heinlein, Damon Knight, E.E. "Doc"
Smith, and many others. Advent's high quality titles have won and been
finalists for several Hugo Awards, such as The Encyclopedia of Science
Fiction and Fantasy and Heinlein's Children. Watch this space for ebook
and print editions of all of Advent's current titles!

Network speeding up

I'm switching the connection over to a new, shiny 10X faster network
because of all the load. There might be bits of downtime as your boxes
learn new addresses and things. Should be brief. Let me know of any
prolonged outages you see.

Preditors & Editors Changeover

With the very sad passing of Dave Kuzminski, who ran P&E, I've taken over the P&E duties. Lots of what I hope are improvements; check it out at
pred-ed.com.

Critters Server is Dying has been Replaced

See important details
here in my blog.Let me know
if you find anything that isn't working right. (Manuscripts are now available
for this week, FYI.)

Book Recommendation

Announcing ReAnimus Press

If you need help making ebooks from manuscripts or print copies—or finding great stuff to read—look no further! An ebook publisher
started by your very own Critter Captain. (And with a
12% Affiliate program.)
[More]

Amanda H. Geard, who reports "My short story, Detections of a Cyborg, got a Silver Honorable Mention in the 4th Quarter of the Writers of the Future Contest. I would like to thank all those Critters who took the time to critique it, and those who continue to critique my work, especially Jeff Cates, for their help in improving my writing".
[Dec 2018]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Before the Beginning" is now out in the current issue of Crimson Streets.
[Nov 2018]

Christoph Weber, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Last Stand" is now out in the current issue of Terraform.
{This one went through the queue back in 2015--thanks to the more than a dozen wonderful critters who improved it. Sadly, it took the recent tragic fires in California for it to sell, but I guess that's par for the course when writing extrapolative fiction: stories speculating on the future seem less crazy once we catch up to precisely that future.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/439xv9/the-last-stand
} [Nov 2018]

Christoph Weber, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "The Last Stand" to Terraform.
[Nov 2018]

Russ Gartz, whose comic, ""Vetala Buddha", Issue 3, "In Sickness"" is now out in the current issue of Comixology.com.
{The journeys of Javas and Heidi continue!
3,500 years ago ...
We learn more about the mysterious past of Daksha and Javas! The ruler of the Lotus Kingdom is dying and asks for his son, Daksha, to be by his side! But Javas has no idea the heartache he will undergo when he, Tanirika, and the Gopala Buddha journey to capital of the Lotus Kingdom, the fabled city of Inoday.
Present Day ...
Heidi is about to make her first conscious kill as a vampire but is terrified! But no could predict the results with she is face-to-face with her intended victim or when she sees a newscast with the charismatic preacher, Howard Heflin.
} [Oct 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Walden Planet" to Strange Constellations.
[Oct 2018]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Contents of the Grail" is now out in the current issue of Shards.
[Oct 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Dead Stop" to On the Premises.
{This story was critiqued as "Dead End." Thanks to all who gave feedback.
} [Sep 2018]

Adam Knight, who sold his (Critter'd) novel, "At The Trough" to NineStar Press.
[Sep 2018]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Changed Man" is now out in the current issue of Mythic.
[Sep 2018]

Jesse Caedington, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Thicker Than Blood" is now out in the current issue of Bewildering Stories.
{My crittered short story "Thicker Than Blood" published in Issue 766 of Bewildering Stories.
Thanks to Critter Jon Adcock for the story title suggestion.
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue766/blurb.html
} [Jul 2018]

Russ Gartz, whose comic, ""Vetala Buddha", Issue 2, "Empathy"" is now out in the current issue of Comixology.
{The journeys of Javas and Heidi continue!
In the ancient Lotus Kingdom, Javas convinces a hungry vampire to take his life and not Tanirika’s. But the rising sun saves them, only to have Javas accused of being in league with evil by a fellow monk, Daksha. Daksha insists that Javas be put to death!
In present day Sacramento, California, Heidi is convinced she’s evil because as a vampire, she will have to kill. But Sloka is concerned about the relationship Heidi had with a popular digital evangelist, Howard Heflin.
} [Jul 2018]

Jefferson Retallack, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "You Can't Even Call It A Rainbow" to Transmundane Press.
[Jun 2018]

Renan Bernardo, who reports "Honorable Mention in Writers of the Future Contest".
{My Crittered story The Bottom of the Funnel has received a Honorable Mention in Writers of the Future Contest 2nd Quarter
} [Jun 2018]

Matthew Rettino, who sold his short story, "The Pilgrim's Yoke" to Bards & Sages Quarterly.
[Jun 2018]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "A Bolt for Semele" is now out in the current issue of Wild Musette.
[Jun 2018]

Chris Hepler, whose (Critter'd) novel, "Civil Blood: The Vampire Rights Case that Changed a Nation" is now out from Amazon Createspace.
{Described by one reviewer as "Shadowrun meets Law & Order," Civil Blood is an urban fantasy set in Washington, D.C.. It's the heartwarming story of a soulless biomedical corporation, two deniable assassins, and the vampire civil rights lawyer they're ordered to terminate. Available in Kindle and paperback. Chris gives a shout-out to beta readers Anna Salonen, Learned Foote, and Mary Sexton!
} [Jun 2018]

Wayne Martin, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Adrift" to Abyss & Apex.
[May 2018]

Kevin P. Hallett, who has won the Silver Honorable Mention from Writers of the Future award for his (Critter'd) short story, "What Comes Before".
{Critters under "Bartholomew Cruze" in March of 2017. Thanks for all the invaluable help. No writer can be an island.
} [May 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Contents of the Grail" to Shards Anthology.
[May 2018]

JE Bates, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Cold Blue Sky" is now out in the current issue of Apex Magazine.
{This story was critiqued in Fall, 2015 under the same name by you guys--big thanks!
Visit apex-magazine.com, issue 108 May 2018 if you’re curious. They also produced a podcast version you can listen to or download.
} [May 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Hello, Stranger" to Stupefying Stories.
[May 2018]

Shawn Proctor, who sold his short story, "Unicorns on All Street, Fairies in the Coffee Shop" to Galaxy's Edge.
[Apr 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "None So Blind as Those Unseen" to The Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
[Apr 2018]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "The Changed Man" to Mythic.
[Apr 2018]

Lars Olsen, who has won the California Redwood Writers Crime Fiction Contest award for (Critter'd) short story, "The Thieving Squirrel".
{Hello Burt,
I submitted this story to the Critters Mystery Workshop last month. My pen name is Lars Sigurdssen.
Lars
-------------------------------
Dear Writers,
CONGRATULATIONS! The winning entries of the Redwood Writers Crime Fiction Contest are in. The results are:
1st Place: Lars Sigurdssen - "The Thieving Squirrel”
Prize: $100, certificate, and a half price scholarship to the Mendocino Coast Writer’s Conference (MCWC) for their novel-writing session, winning entry published in
Winner’s Brochure and on RW website
2nd Place: Steve Lubliner - “The Man in the Photograph”
Prize: $50 and a certificate, winning entry published on RW website
3rd Place: Jean Wong - “Mahalo”
Prize: $25 and a certificate, winning entry published on RW website
Honorable Mention: Mets Strauss - "Rembrandt and the Spider” - Honorable Mention certificate
Honorable Mention: Roger Lubeck - "A Bakers Dozen” - Honorable Mention certificate
What we now need from all of you is: a brief bio. (no more than 75 words), and a photo. Roger DeBeers, our Crime Fiction Contest chair, has been called away on a family emergency, so please send all your info. to me, and I’ll take it from here.
Thank you all again for submitting to the RW Crime Fiction Contest, and once again, CONGRATULATIONS!
Lars, I will send you a separate email detailing how to access your half price scholarship to MCWC.
Best,
Natasha Yim
General Contest Chair
} [Apr 2018]

Derrick Boden, whose short story, "Giant Robot and the Infinite Sunset" is now out in the current issue of Diabolical Plots.
{http://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-38a-giant-robot-and-the-infinite-sunset-by-derrick-boden/
} [Apr 2018]

Christoph Weber, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Hanging Trees" is now out in the current issue of Deep Magic.
{This one went through the queue as "Secret Trees" back in 2015. Thanks to all you critters who helped me whip it into shape!
} [Mar 2018]

Russ Gartz, whose comic, ""Vetala Buddha", Issue 1, "Beginnings"" is now out in the current issue of Comixology.
{How do you become a vampire? Not by being bitten in the neck! If you're reborn as a vampire, it's due to your karma. It's a new concept to newly reborn vampire, Heidi Helgamann. Her vampire teacher, or guru, Sloka, begins Heidi's new undead life by telling her the story of Javas, an ancient monk who became a vampire that would vow to save all vampires from eternal misery, the Vetala Buddha.
This is Issue 1 of a six-issue series.
} [Feb 2018]

Ryan Harris, who sold his short story, "The Randamine Pyramids" to Theme of Absence.
[Jan 2018]

J.E. Bates, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Cold Blue Sky" to Apex Magazine.
[Jan 2018]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Day of the Endorphin" is now out in the current issue of The Centropic Oracle.
[Jan 2018]

Sean Green (writing as S. R. Algernon), whose (Critter'd) book, "Walls and Wonders" is now out in the current issue of ReAnimus Press.
{I'd like to thank Andrew Burt (our Critter Captain) for working with me to publish this; and to thank everyone who critiqued any of my stories, in this collection and elsewhere.
If you're interested, please follow me on Twitter (s_r_algernon) for more updates on my work and other assorted scientific and literary news.
} [Dec 2017]

Fred Obermeyer, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "With Great Power Comes Not-So-Great Playlists" to Mythic.
[Dec 2017]

Anna Salonen, who sold her (Critter'd) short story, "Waiting for the Dawn" to Apparition Lit .
[Dec 2017]

Michael Andre-Driussi, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Post-Modem Alchemy" is now out in the current issue of Society of Misfit Stories.
{Available as a Kindle ebook tale over at Amazon. This is part of a series by the "Bards and Sages Quarterly" publishers.
} [Nov 2017]

James Beamon, whose (Critter'd) novel, "Pendulum Heroes" is now out from Inkitt.com.
{My YA fantasy adventure novel Pendulum Heroes is not only alive, but FREE for the first 100 downloads. Anyone who'd like a copy, check it out at https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantasy/178340
} [Nov 2017]

Kat Day, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The In Between Place" is now out in the current issue of Daily Science Fiction (Nov 13th).
[Nov 2017]

Neal Williams, who has won the Silver Honorable mention for Writers of the Future Q4 award for his (Critter'd) short story, "Perpetuity".
{Thanks always to the great reviews and comments from you all. In the four years I've been doing this my writing has improved immensely from your feedback!
} [Nov 2017]

Amanda H. Geard, who has won the Honorable Mention for Writers of the Future Q4 award for her (Critter'd) short story, "The Living Circus".
{Thanks for all the feedback over the years, Critters! Especially Jeff Cates, but others, too many to mention, have also helped as well.
} [Nov 2017]

Alexander Leger-Small, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Mordant and Mast" to Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
{Many thanks to the many readers who took the time to crit this story at least three times. WOOHOO!
} [Oct 2017]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Before the Beginning" to Crimson Streets.
[Oct 2017]

J.E. Bates, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Eater of Stars" is now out in the current issue of Ride the Star Wind anthology by Broken Eye Books.
[Oct 2017]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Monsters All" to A Lonely Riot.
[Oct 2017]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "A Bolt for Semele" to Wild Musette Journal.
[Oct 2017]

Leena Naidoo, whose short story, "Quest For The Wholly Pale Episode 1" is now out in the current issue of [URL]{My first ever episodic fiction in which I tried to channel both Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams! Download the app and read the episode for free. This series belongs to the Wizards In Space Storyverse created by Eugene Morgulis for Fiction Vortex.
You can read more about it on my website https://leennanaidoo.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/its-wizards-in-space/
} [Oct 2017]

Jeff Sullins, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Sand Gnome" is now out in the current issue of Empyreome.
{Viewable at:
http://empyreome.com/read.aspx?id=59
} [Oct 2017]

Caroline Friedel, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Anthropomorphic Personification Support Group" is now out in the current issue of MYTHIC magazine.
[Oct 2017]

Derrick Boden, whose short story, "Wait Calculation" is now out in the current issue of Compelling SF.
[Oct 2017]

Lori Phillips (Alexa Grave), whose (Critter'd) short story, "Hell On Wheels (Devil Made Me, 2)" is now out in the current issue of Amazon.
[Sep 2017]

Andrew Richardson, whose short story, "Eton Mess" is now out in the current issue of Keith Publications.
[Sep 2017]

Chris Kenworthy, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Out of Sync" is now out in the current issue of NewMyths.com.
[Sep 2017]

Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "Day of the Endorphin" to The Centropic Oracle.
[Sep 2017]

Eric Schwitzgebel, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Little /^^^\&-" is now out in the current issue of Clarkesworld.
[Sep 2017]

Tim Mudie, whose short story, "An Ever-Expanding Flash of Light" is now out in the current issue of Lightspeed.
[Sep 2017]

Shawn Proctor, who sold his short story, "A Good Egg" to Podcastle.
{This story was entered in the Podcastle fiction contest IV. It was selected as a winner (one of three) from 196 entries, the most they have had in these contests so far.
} [Sep 2017]

Rebecca DeVendra, who sold her (Critter'd) short story, "A Packhorse for Your Silly Memes" to Starship Sofa.
{Story was called "And No More Cat Pictures" in Critters a year back, now sold! Thank all!
} [Aug 2017]

Kat Day, who sold her (Critter'd) short story, "The In-between Place" to Daily Science Fiction.
{(I kept missing the "human" check - it's appearing waaaaay down the bottom of the page, after a lot of blank space.)
} [Aug 2017]

Derrick Boden, who sold his short story, "Giant Robot and the Infinite Sunset" to Diabolical Plots.
[Aug 2017]

Dave D'Alessio, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Rains of Venus" is now out in the current issue of Wee Tales (#6).
{Thank you to all who Crittered!
} [Jul 2017]

Carleton Chinner, who reports "My novel The Hills of Mare Imbrium is live on Kindle Scout".
{I couldn't have got this far without the invaluable advice of numerous critters
} [Jul 2017]

Amy Henrie Gillett, who has won the Second Place award for her (Critter'd) short story, "All Light and Darkness (Stay)".
{Thank you, Critters, for helping me transform "Stay" (now, "All Light and Darkness") into a piece I am truly proud of. I had to make some heart-wrenching decisions based on your critiques, but in the end, they were the right decisions.
} [Jul 2017]

Carl Slaughter, who reports "Amazing Stories magazine posted my guest editorial on the Puppies controversy, just in time for the Hugos".
{http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2017/07/guest-editorial-bad-dog-bad-dog/
} [Jul 2017]

Eric Schwitzgebel, whose (Critter'd) short story, "THE TURING MACHINES OF BABEL" is now out in the current issue of Apex Magazine.
{ALL-CAPS title is intentional
} [Jul 2017]

Patricia Moussatche, who has won the Writers of the Future Contest 2nd quarter Honorable Mention award for her (Critter'd) short story, "Carayeeba".
{Thanks for all the feedback, Critters!
} [Jul 2017]

Dave D'Alessio, whose short story, "One Grand Day" is now out in the current issue of Phobos Magazine.
{In paper now; eBook to follow!
} [Jul 2017]

Margaret Moller, who has won the Honorable Mention award for her (Critter'd) short story, "Jin and the Warrior Girl".
[Jul 2017]

Jeffrey Steven Abrams, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Escher's Hands" is now out in the current issue of was a semi-finalist in the 2nd quarter Writers of the Future competition..
[Jul 2017]

Derrick Boden, who sold his short story, "Wait Calculation" to Compelling Science Fiction.
[Jul 2017]

Anna Salonen, who reports "My story "Waiting for the Dawn" earned a silver honourable mention in the Writers of the Future contest, 2nd quarter. Thanks to everyone who Crittered the piece. (The working title was "The Ring in the Sand") ".
[Jul 2017]

Tim Mudie, who sold his short story, "Creeping Insidious Ants" to DarkFuse Magazine.
[Jul 2017]

R.J. Theodore, who sold her (Critter'd) novel, "Flotsam" to Parvus Press.
[Jun 2017]

Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) book, "The Reopened Cask and Other Stories" is now out in the current issue of Createspace.
{This is my second book: fifteen sold short stories, most of which were originally critiqued in Critters, available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback. Thanks to the many people who gave me input and inspiration.
} [Jun 2017]

Brian Burt, whose (Critter'd) novel, "The Price of Eden" is now out from Double Dragon Publishing.
{This is the third book in a trilogy, and all three novels benefitted greatly from Critters feedback. Thanks, all!
} [Jun 2017]

Carleton Chinner, whose short story, "Scatterlings" is now out in the current issue of Twisted Tales 2016.
{It took a long time to get to press, but my first fiction story has been published in an anthology from Raging Aardvark
} [May 2017]

Richard Zwicker, who reports "I am the "featured author" this month at "Centropic Oracle." They have posted a podcast interview with me.".
[May 2017]